An approach road to a Dalit colony in Ittikkal Agaram village, 15 km from Krishnagiri, has been blocked with a barbed wire fence by a section of people.

According to the people in the colony, the fence was erected by the locals with the support of the ‘Ooor Goundar' (Village Leader).

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is planning to engage in direct action to remove the fence, party MLA S. K. Mahendran, announced on Thursday. After visiting the colony, Mr. Mahendran told The Hindu that if the authorities failed to remove the fence within a week, the party cadres will tear it down and clear the way for the Dalits, who, he said, faced oppression in many ways at the hands of the local caste Hindus.

The practice of village leader controlling things in the district was a matter of shame, he said. Only elected bodies should have control over common issues . The district administration and the police should bring an end to this system of extra-judicial authority, he said.

He also said caste Hindus were indulging in violence against the Dalits by not allowing them to do farming on the land allotted to them by the district administration.

Mr. Mahendran along with D. Ravindran, district secretary of the CPI (M), met Revenue Divisional Officer A. Noor Mohamed and urged him to remove the fence. The RDO promised to take appropriate action after verifying the documents and surveying the land within two days.